With a subtle blend of varying gameplay styles and a unique take on progression, Next Up Hero forces players to adapt to important tactics and combat maneuvers that if featured in any other game would become tedious or tiresome. Summon a few Ancients, make your way through an endless amount of levels, and prepare to meet your maker time and time again in the indie action game from Digital Continue.

Overall whatever was revealed in the roughly 10 minute video was pretty impressive to say the least. The weapon creativity, the more open level design, the invasion mode and the parkour elements seem to working well when put together.

Rob Pitt writes: Phantom Doctrine sneaked up on me like a disguised undercover agent out seeking their target in the dead of night. I was completely unaware of its existence until a few weeks ago when I saw and became intrigued by its trailer. All I could imagine was XCOM only with spies, espionage and a realistic storyline over the fantastical and science fiction story told within the amazing XCOM series a first impression which both sparked excitement and curiosity for me.

JTGA: From the moment you boot up, Phantom Doctrine immerses you in its moody, downtrodden world. The subtle, melancholic soundtrack sets a heavy tone; this isnt a bombastic, shoot em up adventure. This is a world where you see the wheels turn; where patience and careful planning is rewarded, and rash decision making is swiftly punished.
The turn based nature of traversal and combat cements a deliberate pace, and is a defining aspect of gameplay. You spend most of your time navigating various dingy locations, retrieving intel, bagging targets, and generally indulging your ultimate spy fantasies.

CG writes: We take a look at Creative Forge Games Phantom Doctrine gameplay from the PC version which offers a selection of turn-based role playing action and super sleuthing across the globe. You can play two separate campaigns via the Russian KGB or American CIA, the choice is yours.

From GameWatcher: "Phantom Doctrine aims to right two particular wrongs in one fell swoop. The first would be for it to tackle the moderately underused XCOM-ish gameplay mechanics: the strategic meta-layer, and the tactical combat features. The second is the fact that it is spy-themed, which isn't something you see every day."